Participants of an interaction have urged the government to immediately ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute to punish the people who had committed crime against humanity.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Thursday, participants said that the government formed on the basis of the people’s power should not delay to ratify the statute to assure people that it is working as per people’s aspiration.

They also urged the government to prioritize the agendas of human rights and work as per the people’s aspiration.

Speaking at the programme organized by Amnesty International Nepal, rights activists Krishna Pahadi alleged that the passivity of the incumbent parliament to announce the date of the election of the constituent might be a conspiracy hatched against people.

He also asked the Maoists and the political parties to publicize their agendas for the election of the constituent assembly.

Leader of Nepali Congress Democratic, Pradip Giri, said that the parliament should not delay to ratify ICC statute to end the practices of impunity and to take action against those involved in rights violations.

He pointed out the need on conducting free trial and taking appropriate action against those involved in suppressing the people’s movement and involved in crimes against humanity.

Speaking at the same programme, lawmaker Subash Nemwang expressed commitment to prioritize the issue of ratifying ICC statute and other international treaties to ensure people’s rights.

He added that the parliament is mulling to institutionalize the achievements of the people’s movement and working as per the people’s aspiration.

Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Kedar Nath Upadhaya also agreed that the ICC statute should be immediately endorsed to end the practice of impunity, adding, “The ICC had played important role in the International level to take action against the criminals of humanity so Nepal should immediately endorse it.”

At the same program, former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana was of the view that the political parties agreed to much less than what they could have achieved.

“The movement could have yield better results and it might have given something more to the Nepali people, but the leaders agreed in the reinstatement of the HoR, which is not the demand of the movement and it will do nothing to make the Nepali people sovereign,” Dhungana said.

He deplored the passivity of the parliament to make it supreme and lack of concrete decisions to make the people supreme.

Rights activist Subodh Raj Pyakurel said that the government should immediately ratify the ICC statute, to check the systematic torture and widespread killing prevalent in the country.

More than 100 countries have ratified the ICC statute, but none of the SAARC countries have ratified it.

Two senior leaders of the CPN (Maoist), Matrika Yadav, and Suresh Ale Magar, have been freed from Nakkhu prison in Lalitpur on Thursday as per the order of the Lalitpur Appellate Court.

The court ordered for the release of the Maoist leaders after the council of ministers decided to withdraw criminal charges leveled against them.

The government had filed charges against Yadav and Magar last year alleging them of being responsible for the murder of then Inspector General of the Armed Police Force Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and body guard some three years ago.

India had arrested and deported Yadav and Ale Magar in February 2004. They were reportedly arrested by Indian security personnel in Lucknow and later handed over to Nepali authorities. They were being kept under military custody since then and later made public only in September 2005.

Talking to reporters upon their release, senior leader of the CPN (Maoist) Matrika Yadav said his party won’t sit for negotiations with the government unless all the Maoist detainees were freed. He also alleged that the reinstatement of the House of Representatives was a ploy to “slow down” the people’s movement.

Yadav was the chief of the “Madheshi Autonomous People’s Government” declared by the Maoists while Ale Magar is a leader of the indigenous people’s front affiliated to the Maoists.

We do not need any aid or economic package that makes us dependent and rely on others forever

– By Sanjib Subba

International and donor community are eager to come back and “contribute” in Nepal in a changed political scenario. The new Government in Nepal is looking forward to its “credibility” by showing the people back home how much aid and donors fund it could bring in to the country. India, taking a lead has announced “Economic Package” to win the hearts of politicians and Nepali people.

Nepali people though should dare to say STOP before you are out there again to seek these alms. Experience has shown that no nation in the world has benefited from “Aid and Donations”. The so-called donor’s money has been the source of much of the corruption everywhere. A large amount of these foreign funds go in employing so-called expatriate experts and rest of the money never reaches the exact beneficiary. The dependency that this process brings is other social problem that is rampant in our society.

The majority of large number of INGOs and NGOs that are mushroomed in every nook and corner of Nepal is mostly dependent on foreign help. Majority of them go unchecked both fiscal and operational. The so called Team Leaders reportedly divert the funds to their own benefit, keep them employed and be rich in a so called “intellectual way” and in the name of social work.

“Funding agencies and friends of Nepal like India, China further could help by supporting our hydro electricity industry at mutually favorable terms and buying the product at respectable market rate.”
The time is now for Nepal and Nepalis to be self reliant and politely say “No, Thank you” to donors.

Government and politicians should be bold enough to say “No” to aid givers; say “Yes” to them only for serious economic measures to help Nepali industrial infrastructure by opening their market for Nepali goods, direct transfer of technology and know how, joint-ventures and multilateral projects like Arun and Melamchi which has significant national importance as well as strategic important issues such as road network development.

Unless and until we come up with a radical and reformist economic package for the nation and commit ourselves to build the nation we are heading nowhere. Foreigners and friends of Nepal may have all the sympathy for our situation and poverty it is us – Nepalis– who has to build our country.

If nations were built on donors fund then many of the African countries would have been ranking not too low with global leaders by now, but no, the rampant corruption, huge under the table deal has made the good fund to be misused by each and every one involved.

An old Chinese proverb comes to mind: “Teach your children how to fish not how to eat.” How rightly said.

Yes, we are rapidly losing lead time in terms of progress and economic prosperity but if we all work hard and sincerely the lost time could be narrowed pretty fast.

Vietnam is one good example, which is rapidly reducing the economic gap with countries like Thailand, Malaysia year on year. The country that was once under US and international sanctions now boasts itself as one of the upcoming South East Asian economic centers. The implementation of “Doi-Moi” economic plan has shaped its future. The ambitious reform economic package under “Doi-Moi” that addressed decentralization, market oriented economy, adoption of outward oriented policy, reformed agriculture policy, focus on private sector as a growth engine and empowering state and private owned companies to make all foreign trade decision got Vietnam out of economic crisis. Vietnam has been discussed here just as a symbol of exemplary economic growth and point here is not to say they did not rely on out side support or Nepal does not have similar economic approach but reality is that they managed to turn things around through smart approach, hard work and stable politics.

We always have heard policy makers in Nepal talk about “Competitive Strategy”, true, but challenge then is to establish focused approach on selected industries and take them to the next level of prosperity. It is for the Government and economists to figure out which ones are these. Unless and until we know answers to our economic needs no one is going to help us. The next ten years– assuming everything falls in places and Maoists join the main stream – will be the crucial 10 years to lay the strong economic foundation.

It is irony that our politics, media, civic society and we at large are so much obsessed with “Foreign assistance”. The success and failure of the government is mostly rated at how much aid and donations they could bring or could not bring. It is pity that governments’ performance is measured against bringing “Loans & Donations” instead of “Development”. Did not the media criticize Royal Government for failing to stop withdrawal of foreign assistance? Similarly, the new government headed by Girija Prasad Koirala would be lauded for bringing hell lots of foreign assistance in to the country.

Has any one realized how much money has flown in Nepal over last 40-50 years in the name of AID and Donations? We may have received millions of dollars in last 40-50 years but irony is we are still poor and underdeveloped. If we yet do not learn from past mistakes we are doomed. Do not wait till inflation sky rockets; value of your currency is weighed in kilos and sacks. Fortunately, the “Labor Power” of remittance has been funding the country, keeping all other variables under control.

Referring to Indian “Economic Package” for Nepal again, I do not want to get in to the politics of this but reality is we do not need any aid or economic package that makes us dependent and rely on others forever. Instead, India should support Nepali industry and open Indian market for Nepali goods and services at a favorable terms and conditions so that our industry could flourish. Funding agencies and friends of Nepal like India, China further could help by supporting our hydro electricity industry at mutually favorable terms and buying the product at respectable market rate. Similarly, Nepal should start working on attracting Foreign Direct Investments instead of begging for aids and donations and India and China should come forward to open their market for products under FDI in Nepal without any bias. That would show your sincerity towards Nepal.

Similarly, USA and EU, if they are really sincere in “contributing” in Nepal’s development then they should not encourage Aid and donations under the disguise of so called “Development Fund” but instead remove QUOTA system for Nepali products and start with garments, for example. Let the Nepali handicrafts and other products in without any barriers; Provide a good and economical platform for Nepal to promote Tourism in their country; Encourage their private sector to invest in Nepal, provide some relief for their corporate sector who wish to invest in Nepal. There are countless ways other than alms that they can help us if sincerity prevails amongst our “DONORS”.

Subba is the director, MBA and Professional Development Programme of the Webster University at Bangkok, Thailand. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])

Maoists have released five Armed Police Force (APF) officials whom they had abducted from Badraghat, Nawalparasi district, on Sunday.

Organising a public function at Bhumai Bazaar Thursday afternoon, the Maoists released the five APF men – Sub-Inspector Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, head constable Krishna Rijal, constables Nawaraj Shrestha, Dharma Raj Jaisi and Bharat Thapa – who were deployed in the area with weapons ahead of the visit of APF Additional Inspector General (AIG) Raviraj Thapa, who was arriving there to attend a police convocation ceremony at APF’s training school at Bardaghat.

They were released in the presence of human rights activists and journalists, reports said.

Janamorcha Nepal (People’s Front) has selected vice-chairman Pari Thapa as its leader in the parliament.

PFN leaders told reporters after a meeting of the central committee that the party named Thapa as the parliamentary leader and has formally decided to join in the present government.

“We are participating in the government to fulfill the mandate of the people’s movement. We are ready to take up any responsibility,” said party chairman Amik Sherchan, adding, “We are not going haggle for seats.”

The party publicized its 15-point policy decision regarding its participation in the parliament.

According to Janamorcha general secretary Naba Raj Subedi, the 15-point decision includes, among other things, the demand to bring the Royal Nepalese Army under the purview of the parliament, action against the perpetrators of the people’s movement and disclosure of the status of involuntarily disappeared persons be disclosed.

Janamorcha Nepal, which has six MPs in the reconvened House of Representatives, is one of the partners in the seven-party alliance. The party had been facing internal dispute with few leaders opposing the idea of joining the government.

Janamorcha Nepal was formed after the merger between the Sanyukta Janamorcha Nepal and Rastriya Janamorhca Nepal recently.

Five day after the formation of the Judicial Commission to investigate the suppression of the pro-democracy movement, the government has granted broad mandate to the Commission.

According to the Terms of Reference (TOR) given to the commission as per the decision of the council of ministers, the Commission has been empowered to investigate, recommend, advice or suggest the government to take actions or punish anyone found responsible for the killings and suppression of the pro-democracy activists during the ‘jana andolan’ 2006, involved in abuse of power or misappropriation of state funds since the February 1 royal takeover of last year.

The Commission headed by former Justice of the Supreme Court, Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, is to submit its report within two months after probing into the cases of loss of life and property during the recent people’s movement.

According to the TOR, the probe body is to find the guilty and suggest necessary legal action against them on the basis of its findings.

Senior journalist Harihar Birahi, who is also a member of the probe commission, said , the Commission will start its work from Wedensday immediately after taking oath of office from Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel.

The Commission will be located at Harihar Bhawan and will use the same facilities used by the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC).

Other members of the five-member commission include lawyers Ram Prasad Shrestha, Ram Kumar Shrestha and general secretary of the Nepal Medical Association Dr Kiran Shrestha.

Vice-president of the Nepali Congress (NC) Sushil Koirala has said that inclusive democracy and restructuring of the state are common agendas of the seven political parties.

Speaking at an interaction in the capital on Tuesday, Koirala urged all not to doubt the parties’ commitment to inclusive democracy and restructuring of the state.

He further said, “There should be free space for ethnic communities, languages, women, Dalit and others. In the era of globalisation, no country can survive if it continues to adhere to feudal mentality.”

He also said that the reinstated House of Representatives (HoR) would make decisions in the interest of the people, as it was reinstated due to the people’s power.

Koirala added he would table the proposals forwarded by the intelligentsia in the central working committee of the party, which is scheduled to take place soon.

Likewise, General Secretary of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said giving a safe landing to the existing transition phase was the major challenge and for which support and suggestions of all sectors is essential.

The government should immediately finalise a code of conduct, sign Human Rights Convention and sit down on talks table with the Maoists that would be followed by the election to a constituent assembly, Poudel added.

Poudel also suggested the government to urge the Maoists to stop extortions and abductions.

Lawmaker and chairman of the Nepal Intellectual Council Dr Mangal Siddhi Manandhar stressed the need to draft an interim constitution to go for the election of the constituent assembly. Such a constitution, he said, would pave the way for making historic decisions.

At a time when the Maoists are demanding early dissolution of the recently reinstated House of Representatives (HoR), general secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal said the HoR should not be dismissed in haste without first finding a reliable institution to take over its responsibilities.

Speaking at a talk program in the capital on Tuesday, Nepal said, “We are not in favor of continuing this parliament for an indefinite period, but it must continue to exist until the problems facing the country, especially the Maoist conflict, are resolved through dialogue.”

No one would be able to question or contravene the decisions taken by parliament because it is based on the people’s mandate and is the most powerful body, reports quoted Nepal as saying.

Nepal ruled out the possibility of direct involvement or mediation by civil society or the international community in negotiations between the government and the Maoists, adding, “But they could lend support by monitoring the situation during peace talks and during elections to the constituent assembly.”

Another CPN-UML leader, Bam Dev Gautam, expressed dissatisfaction over the dismal performance of the HoR and urged the parliament to take concrete decisions for the sake of the nation and people, without wasting precious time.

Foreign employment agencies on Tuesday claimed that high-ranking officials of Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) are involved in the Moondrops Overseas scam and demanded the concerned authority to annul Moondrops’ workers selection process.

“The entire procedure of calling candidates for interview, selection and even the use of quotas by Moondrops Overseas has lacked transparency. We demand that the whole procedure be made transparent or else the present selection be cancelled,” said Hansha Raj Wagle, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).

Speaking at a press meet at Reporters Club on Tuesday, he clarified that the authority of granting such permissions lay with Department of Labor and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) and not with MoLTM.

“Sending workers to Korea has always been a big issue and we should be wary that we should not lose such a lucrative market,” Wagle added.

According to regulations, a manpower agency on receiving foreign job quota needs to notify the DoLEP first. The department then decides on whether to give prior-permission to the manpower agency. The manpower agency can publish the notice about foreign job vacancies in national dailies only if it gets the green signal from the department.

The advertisement, inviting candidates for the interview was published in Himalaya Times, a Nepali national daily on April 29, which was not available in the market.

Further, the interviews of more than 1,300 people in a single day raises questions over the selection criteria, he said. There was no satisfactory reply from the MoLTM and Moondrops overseas on the issue despite queries raised by the NAFEA, Wagle informed.

Manpower agents urged the concerned authority not to remain silent when a manpower agency has been trying to extract large sums of money from poor workers just because they fear the country might lose Korean job quotas.

However, the sources at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) denied collusion with the Company.

Meanwhile, reports quoted Prasiddha Rana, director of Moondrops Overseas, as refuting the claims that it bought all the copies of April 29 edition of the newspaper on which the notice was printed.

Thirteen schoolchildren were killed and 12 injured when a tempo (three-wheeler vehicle) they were traveling in fell into the Chatara canal in the eastern district of Sunsari Tuesday morning.

The mishap occurred near the Chinese Camp of Bhadgaun Sinuwari. The tempo was carrying the students of Moonlight Unique Academy Secondary English Boarding School, Jhumka.

Seven children were killed on the spot while six died undergoing treatment.

The driver of the tempo, one Shrestha, survived the mishap and is absconding.

The deceased have been identified as Sabin Khadka (7), Saroj Khadka (9), Dipesh Khadka (9), Saugat Khadka (9), Saru Khadka (8) of the same family; Arjun Khadka (9), Sanjiv Shrestha (6), Sanjiv Guragain (6), Susmita Guragain, Bibash Rayamajhi (12) of Baklauri-4, Gagan Singh Thapa (4) of Singiya-7, Naresh Choudhari (9) and Saraswoti Choudhari (13).

Three students – Prem Choudhari, Sagar Thapa and Umesh Choudhari – managed to get off the tempo before it fell into the canal.

According to eyewitness, one of the wheels of the tempo suddenly dislodged, sending the vehicle into the roadside canal.

Meanwhile, the district administration office has provided Rs 1,000 as an immediate relief and Inrawa Chapter of the Nepal Red Cross Society provided Rs. 500 to each victim’s family. Some of family members declined to take the merger amount and have sought stern punishment for the culprit.

Meanwhile, Private and Boarding Schools Organization of Nepal (PABSON), has decided to ban old vehicles and rickshaws from ferrying students in the district. Mourning the deaths, all schools of the district will remain closed on Wednesday.